http://www.anglersatlas.com
Cariboo Economic Region

When he was a biologist studying lakes, Sean Simmons realized there were vast amounts of information about lake floors that would be valuable to fishing enthusiasts – if only they could find it. The solution came ten years ago when Sean set up an agreement with the B.C. government to establish the right to publish bathymetric and topographic maps. He then developed a website, which offered free access to 15 maps at the beginning.

Today Angler’s Atlas provides maps for over 300,000 North American waterbodies, and other resource information, to anglers through its engaging website, www.anglersatlas.com. The site allows its 50,000 members to download free maps and contribute their own content, like photos, comments and map markers that can be viewed and used by others via GPS units or Google Earth. The company also sells hard copy maps and other products like backroad mapbooks.

With a staff of five, Sean attributes success to having access to sophisticated web expertise in the region as well as the emergence of open source technology.